Kcwt 09 22 2016

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TH UR SDA Y , S E P T E M B E R 22, 20 16

COUNTY WIDE YOUR HOME AND FAMILY NEWS FROM ALL OF KENDALL COUNTY

KendallCountyNow.com

Honor Flight for Vietnam vet Yorkville resident gets final ride to visit D.C. war memorials and special welcome home By TONY SCOTT tscott@kendallcountynow.com With stage 4 terminal kidney cancer, John Lechowicz does not have the luxury of time, but thanks to local and national veterans organizations, he was recently able to fulfill a dream. Lechowicz, 69, of Yorkville, served in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam from November of 1968 to May of 1970. Like many local veterans, Lechowicz has patronized the Veterans Assistance Commission of Kendall County. It was VAC Assistant Superintendent Olivia Laschober who told him and his wife, Cathleen, about the Dream Foundation and Honor Flight’s Their Last Chance program. “[Laschober] was the one that had told us about Honor Flight and that they have a special TLC one for people that are terminal, and about the Dream Foundation,” Cathleen Lechowicz said. “So it’s thanks to her that all this actually happened; she’s the one who put it in motion for us.” The VAC is “just terrific,” John Lechowicz added. Laschober said she learned about the Dream Foundation at an accreditation conference for the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers. She said she and John were talking one day about the traditional Honor Flight program, and that while World War II and Korean War veterans were using the service, the organization was still in the application stage for Vietnam War veterans. “He’s like, ‘well, I don’t think I have enough time,’” Laschober said. The Dream Foundation describes itself as “the only national dream-granting program for terminally-ill adults,” and it partners with the Honor Flight organization’s Their Last Chance program, which transports veterans via Southwest Airlines to Washington, D.C., to view war memorials and other landmarks in the area. “When John applied with Dream Foundation he was hoping to be a part of Honor Flight but unsure of how to do it,” said Dani Cordaro of the Dream Foundation. “We worked with Honor Flight to bring this final dream to life for John.” The veterans receive lodging and meals at no cost to them, according to the Dream Foundation. As part of the flight, veterans

Photo provided

With John Lechowicz (seated) are (from left) John Hayes, senior adviser for military affairs for Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill.; Jim Knotts, president and CEO of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund; Chris Lisi of the Dream Foundation; Ed Kurz of the Veterans Assistance Commission; and Jim McLaughlin, chairman of the Honor Flight Network. need to have a guardian to help them with medical needs and to assist them if necessary. While using the services of the VAC, John Lechowicz met Ed Kurz, who drives veterans to Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital as part of the VAC’s services. “Some people need a lot of help,” John Lechowicz said. “Ed takes care of those people and he’s really a blessing to them.” The pair have since become good friends, and Kurz, a fellow Vietnam veteran, accompanied Lechowicz on his trip as his guardian. “They became friends over the years, and they were both in Vietnam so they’ve got that camaraderie,” Cathleen Lechowicz said of Kurz and her husband. According to Cordaro, Honor Flight’s

Their Last Chance program covered the cost of Lechowicz’s flight, while the Dream Foundation covered the cost of bringing along Kurz. “They just do wonderful things,” Laschober said. Kurz said he’s known many veterans who have gone on Honor Flights, “and there’s nobody that doesn’t come back just elated.” He said he and Lechowicz were the only sponsored veterans on their flights, unlike a traditional Honor Flight that is a chartered flight with a group of just veterans. “The way you’re treated, people are cheering for you,” he said. “Just before we took off, the captain gets on the loudspeaker system and announces that we’re on there, and the whole plane starts clap-

ping. And that’s repeated when we were coming home.” Laschober said the veterans were treated with “so much respect.” “They never got that when they came home back in the ‘70s,” she said. “I’m sure it was just very humbling. When they were telling me their story, I was like, ‘Oh I want to cry.’ It was really nice, it was a nice gesture.” During the trip, John Lechowicz said he met a variety of fellow veterans and people who appreciated them. “You got to meet some other folks,” he said. “Everybody has their own stories and on the TLC flight, most of the people were terminal. It was nice to see what was

See VETERAN, page 4


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